The present invention relates to the field of reel type ovens and more particularly, to such ovens when integrated into a transportable cart, which may include other basic food cleaning and sanitation equipment.
Traditional food service carts operated by street vendors typically include means for cooking various forms of meat or other food products. These products are then sold directly to the public. Since street customers are on-the-move, they are not likely to wait patiently for service, and the vendor wants to satisfy demand as quickly as possible. The operator may expect a rush at certain predictable times during the day, and be able to prepare for these busy periods, but in between, demand is generally unpredictable. Up to a point, a food product may be prepared in batches and kept hot for instant delivery, but it is far more desirable to provide a freshly cooked food product, since anything held too long loses crispness and perceived quality. Also, on a vendor""s cart, batch size and/or holding capacity may be relatively limited.
Another, more vexing problem for street vendors has to do with municipal regulations. In most cities, restaurant kitchens are routinely inspected and graded under municipal health department regulations. On the other hand, street vendors have been allowed to operate with relative freedom. Currently however, heightened concern over the distribution of tainted food products and other health considerations are bringing about tighter regulation of street vendors. Some cities have banned street vendors completely to avoid possible health risks. For these reasons, it is desirable to meet the same standards of cleanliness on a vendor""s cart as those applied to restaurants. The basic requirements for sanitary food preparation are a clean, crack and crevice free working area, clean hot water at least 170xc2x0 F., hand washing detergent, a sink and paper towels. If the added capital expense for these amenities could also provide better performance, it would be helpful to the street vendors.
The present inventions contemplate improved apparatus for street vendor""s carts. These inventions relate to or employ some steps and apparatus well known in the oven, cooking and smoking apparatus arts and therefore, not the subject of detailed discussion herein.
A first object of the present invention is therefore, to provide a vendor""s cart with the amenities necessary to meet strict sanitary codes. A second object is to provide this vendor""s cart with an adequate supply of hot water and preferably, the capability of heating this water and keeping it hot, without access to external power. A third object of the present inventions is to provide a facility for hand washing on the cart. Yet a fourth object is to equip the vendor""s cart of the present inventions with cooking apparatus capable of quickly reaching operating temperature, so as to provide hot water and/or freshly cooked food products as needed, without constant oven operation.
An oven that warms-up quickly, on an as-needed basis, may be the best way for a street vendor to cope with irregular sales demand. The circulation of hot gases within the oven interior can shorten the time required for warm-up. Such circulation can also shorten cooking time, even before the oven has fully reached cooking temperature, by exposing a greater portion of the product""s surface to cooking temperatures.
The present inventions address the objectives as set forth above by providing apparatus for a vendor""s cart that has hot and cold water storage tanks, a hand-washing sink, a substantially cylindrical oven-housing, with end walls enclosing the oven-housing interior, an access door, and a vented tubular armature assembly. The armature assembly is mounted between the oven end walls to rotate about a horizontal axis and a burner extending axially through the end wall projects a flame into the armature tube, forcing heated gases through vents into the oven-housing interior. The burner is supplied by a butane or propane tank, carried on the cart. Although the flame is relatively short in length as compared to the armature, the vents are limited in size, so that hot gases are forced to exit in a substantially uniform manner along the length of the armature. A plurality of food product receiving baskets, mounted on spaced apart horizontal axes, rotate relative to the armature assembly, in the fashion of passenger seats on a Ferris wheel. The water in the hot water storage tank may be heated by a convection heating coil in the oven, or by proximity to the oven. Rotation of the armature may be accomplished manually or may be power driven. In either case, a rotatable shaft extending through the opposite oven end wall is axially connected to the armature.